Smart phones commonly support a user profile that contains all the settings customized to a particular users tastes. These may include applications loaded, alert selections, address or phone directory, and the like. Many of the higher end smart phones (Windows CE phones, Symbian phones, or Palm Phones) can support more than one profile. Different profiles may be created for each user of the device, or for each task or application supported by the device. For example, custom applications can be loaded into the smart phone (construction estimating program for example), and also personal preferences configured to the user's personal tastes (family pictures, alerts, etc).
Many people use their phones for more than one task. There may be more than one job which requires different profiles. They may have one profile for work and another for home. A work profile may contain job contacts, and programs to support work tasks, while a home profile may contain games for the kids and an address book full of personal friends. When a user switches tasks from job to home, they will select a different profile. The profile swap can be automatic based on time of day or day of the week (e.g., workday vs. weekend). For many people, work and home life are not that separate or they tend to meld. Such users may switch from work to home tasks and back with each phone call. Their phone may also contain profiles for other family members such as a spouse or child. Thus, it is inconvenient to operate phone menus during a call or between each call to manually select an alternate profile. Some devices can be programmed to switch tasks or modes automatically based on time of day or day of the week and will even select a photo to display or an alert to play based on a Caller ID. Nonetheless, no existing device is known that can switch profiles or modes of operation based on a received Caller ID.